Safety cushion



W. T. BROOKS SAFETY CUSHION May 14,

Filed Jan. 13, 1967 AGE/VT United States Patent Oiiice 3,382,511Patented May 14, 1968 3,382,511 SAFETY CUSHION William T. Brooks, 1221Bill St.,

Norfolk, Va. 23518 Filed Jan. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 609,722 3 Claims. (Cl.5-355) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A safety cushion employing bouncingputty as a stuiing for providing a soft, deformable support to the userwhich will mold under a steady pressure of normal use While at the sametime provide an essentially rigid, unyielding support under rapidlyapplied loads.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forth-e Government of the United States of America for governmentalpurposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

Background of the invention This invention relates generally to a safetyseat cushion and, more particularly, to a cushion which is moldable toprovide a custom seat for its user while at the same time lwill protectthe user from back injuries during rapidly applied external loads. Inflights of extended duration, the pilot, for example, is subjected toperiods of fatigue and discomfort primarily due to the seat cushionwhich has heretofore been a firm support in order to minimize thepossibility of back injury to the pilot during ejection and possibleplane crash. A seat of this type, however, provides many pressure pointsagainst the pilot, particularly over straps and other paraphernaliawhich the pilot may be wearing. These pressure points then become aserious source of discomfort and distraction during long missions.Nevertheless, a firm seat is necessary in order to provide asufficiently rigid and preferably unyielding support for the pilot,especially for the spine, which is subject to injury caused byabnormally high impact during ejection or airplane crash. Those seatcushions having an elastic and deformable padding enveloping a crushableor inelastic seat core have not produced satisfactory comfort to theuser because of the impracticability of providing a sufficiently thick,deformable padding without, at the same time, destroying theeffectiveness of the energy absorbing characteristics of the crushablecore.

Summary of the invention The seat cushion according to the presentinvention obviates many of the disadvantages of the prior art safetycushions by providing a filling for the seat cushion consisting of apeculiar substance called bouncing putty, which inherently provides ayieldable support for the user capable of molding under a steadypressure. This molded contour taken by the seat will provide a customsupport for the user which will substantially eliminate most of thediscomforts associated with long missions. However, at ejection, or inthe event of a crash, this custom support will act to prevent lateralmovement as well as vertical movement of the user relative to the seat,because of the quality of bouncing putty to resist sudden forces as ifit were a solid.

This ller material is placed in a pan which forms a rigid seat outlinesuch that the bouncing putty, merely under its own Weight and in a fewhours, will cover the bottom of the pan like a liquid. A top padding isplaced over the filler material for additionally softening the seat.

Accordingly, it is an obje-ct of the present invention to provide asafety seat cushion adaptable for use in aircraft or fast movingvehicles where, in the event of a crash, hard landing or excessivemaneuvering upon bailout, those impact forces between the seat cushionand the user which may occur may be obviated by designing the seatcushion so as to minimize the possibility of back injury to the user.

v vAnother object of the present invention is to provide a seat cushionwhich will supply both comfort and safety solely through the use of aunique filler material.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a safety seatcushion incorporating the use of a substance known as bouncing puttywhich will satisfactorily form a custom support for the user during longsustained loads while at the same time will rigidify under rapidlyapplied forces thereby minimizing injury to the spinal Icolumn of theoccupant.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention`will become apparent from the following detailed description of theinvention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a perspective view of thesafety seat cushion according to the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken at line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing the llermaterial contained within the rigid pan of the seat cushion.

Description of the preferred embodiments In FIG. l there is shown asafety seat cushion 10 according to the present invention which isusable in the conventional aircraft pilot ejection seat, or in anyconventional chair or seat for use in vehicles of transportation. Thiscushion, shown in greater detail in FIG. 2, comprises a pan 11 having abottom and sidewalls extending upwardly therefrom which defines thebasic outline of the seat cushion. P-an 11 may be of any metallic ornon-metallic rigid composition suicient to contain the filler materialto be hereinafter described. This ller material 12 consists of a highlyviscous substance known as bouncing putty which has a unique combinationof the properties of both a solid and a liquid. It will deform slowlyunder the'slightest force like a very viscous liquid limited only by theupstanding sidewalls of pan 11 such that, when the user is seatedthereon, a yieldable molded contour is obtained which acts as a customsupport for the user. This bouncing putty, on the other hand, will notflow quickly, but will resist rapidly applied loads as if it were solid.Its rigidity under sudden forces is like that of rubber such that duringejection, for example, the custom support will tend to prevent bothlateral movement as well as vertical movement relative to the seat. Inthe drawings, the filler material 12 is shown as a plurality of packetsso as to simplify the assembly of the instant seat cushion. The bouncingputty is a solid elastic product of a reaction between a silicon oil anda compound of boron such as, for example, boric acid with the additionof a filler, such as lithopone. Placed over the filler 12 is a toppadding 13 consisting of a relatively soft foam elastomer such assynthetic rubber or, for example, a foamed polyester. The padding 13will, of course, provide additional soft comfort to the user. Envelopingthe seat cushion is a cover material 14, such as leather, tire resistantcotton ducking or the like.

From the foregoing, it becomes apparent that the safety seat cushion ofthe present invention will perform in a manner not heretofore possiblesimply with the use of a single filler material, such as bouncing putty.The cushion is characterized as both a self-molded, self-contoured seatoperable under ordinary usage to promote the comfort of the user and, asa rigid, unyielding support during the presence of rapidly applied loadsto minimize the posl sibility ofback injury to the user by tending toprevent both lateral as Well asivertical movement of the back relativeto theseat. While the rubber seat cushions hereinbeforeused provide asufficiently comfortable support, they are unsatisfactory in preventingthose back-breaking jolts attending aircraft ejection, crash landingsand other rapidly applied external loads. The` novel seat cushion hereinobviates these disadvantages by serving'the dual purposeas :hereinabovenoted in a manner which is obviously simple, easy to assemble, compactand employing a filler material which is both easily and inexpensivelyavailablel i Obviously many modications and Variations` of the presentinvention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It istherefore to be understood that Within the scope -of `the appendedclaims the invention rnay` be practicedotherwise than as ySpecificallydescribed.

What is claimed is:

l. `A safety cushion comprising:

a rigid bottom;

rigid sidewalls extending upwardly from said bottom;

a mass of filler material yoccupying the entire space delined by saidbottom and said sidewalls, said matet 4 rial having the properties ofbeing elastic and deformable under a steady continuous pressure butbeing rigid and unyielding under a rapidly applied load.

2. A cushion of claim 1 wherein said ller material is lbouncing putty.

3. The cushion of claim 2 wherein said mass of ller material comprises aplurality of units of filler material in contiguity to each other so asto provide a molded contour custom support for the user.

rReferences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,704,663 3/1955 Blake 248-1882X 2,858,881 1l/1958 Newall et al 5-361 X 3,043,049 7/ 1962 Gleason 24S-188.4 3,045,390 7/1962 Tao 248-1883 `3,145,020 8/1964 Calla 5--361 X3,155,357 f' 11/1964 Kramcsak et al. 24S-188.3 3,165,761 1/1965 Ross5-351 3,308,491 3/1967 Spence 5--355 3,310,819 3/1967 Morrison 5-351 yCASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner.

